Want to know the best Marilyn Monroe movies? How about the worst Marilyn Monroe movies? Curious about Marilyn Monroe’s box office grosses or which Marilyn Monroe movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Marilyn Monroe movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), started showing in movies in 1947. Most of her early films were either uncredited or very small parts. Her first major role was in the B feature Ladies of the Chorus in 1948. After Ladies of the Chorus performed weakly at the box office, she started appearing in supporting parts in bigger budget movies like The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve. In early 1952, she admitted to posing for nude photos. In an interview, she said she did the photos because she was unable to pay her rent, the resulting publicity made the public curious about the struggling actress.
The rest of 1952 was a coming out party for Marilyn Monroe. Three of her movies, Monkey Business, Clash By Night and Don’t Bother To Knock were successful at the box office. All the parts were supporting parts but they were marketed as Marilyn Monroe films. By the time 1953 came around, she was a much in demand actress. During the next seven years she made classic films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How To Marry A Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch and her best film Some Like It Hot. In 1962 she started working on Something’s Got to Give, she however only showed up for work 12 out of 35 days and was dismissed from the movie. Unfortunately in August of that year she was found dead at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 36.
Her IMDb page shows 33 acting credits from 1947-1962. Ther page will rank 24 Marilyn Monroe movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.
Marilyn Monroe Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Marilyn Monroe Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In Ther Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort by Marilyn Monroe’s co-stars of her movies.
- Sort Marilyn Monroe movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Marilyn Monroe movies by box office rank by year of release
- Sort Marilyn Monroe movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Marilyn Monroe movie received.
- Sort Marilyn Monroe movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Possibly interesting facts about Marilyn Monroe.
1. She was never nominated for an Oscar® in her career.
2. She received 2 Golden Globe® nominations….winning for Some Like It Hot ….and receiving a nomination for Bus Stop.
3. The American Film Institute considers her one of the Top 10 movie stars of all time.
4. She was married to legendary baseball player Joe DiMaggio and later married to legendary writer Arthur Miller.
5. She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson and baptized as Norma Jeane Baker.
6. Fox talent scout Ben Lyon has gotten the credit for the name Marilyn Monroe….Marilyn was from stage actress Marilyn Miller. The last name Monroe was Marilyn’s mother’s maiden name.
7. Her crypt is located at Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California.
8. Marilyn Monroes has two movies that I was unable to find any box office information….so it they were not included in th3e page….1952’s As Young as You Feel and 1951’s HomeTown Story.
9. And finally …her social security number was….563-32-0764
10. Check out Marilyn Monroe’s movie career compared to current and classic stars on our Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time page.
Cogerson’s Marilyn Monroe You Tube Video
Steve’s Marilyn Monroe You Tube Video
America Film Institutes’ Top 25 Screen Legend Actress and UMR’s Links That Rank All Of Their Movies.
MM apparently had a great longing to be known as a serious actress as well as a sex symbol and attended the Actors Studio. Her close friend and confidante was Susan Strasberg, daughter of Lee Strasberg to whom when MM died she had left all her belongings as many regarded him as the “father” of the Actors Studio [just as I regard The Work Horse as the father of this site though unfortunately I’ve nothing to leave him].
However the sitcom Frasier seemed to poke fun at what it appeared to regard as MM’s pretentiousness when in one episode Niles chides his self-regarding- cultured brother for double standards in pursuit of commercialism “Frasier you remind me of that actress who claimed she wanted to be taken seriously for her artistic merits but then proceeded to deliberately stand on a subway grate where the wind could blow her skirt up!”
Nevertheless Marilyn in ranked 6th on AFI’s Female Legends list and [along with Chaplin, Brando and Sinatra] is one of only 4 big screen superstars to be included in Time Magazine’s 100 Greatest People of the 20th Century from multi professions and all walks of life.
My pick of the posters in your MM video Home Town Story [a little B movie that has always intrigued me] The Fireball. Green Grass of Wyoming [starring Brit Peggy Cummins – she died last year at 92 but whatever became of her professionally?] a very sexy one for Love Nest, Ladies of the Chorus, the entire set for River of No Return showcasing a voluptuous MM [Rory was in that one in a supporting role but even I didn’t notice him!] the whole set of posters for Niagara, the foreign language ones for Bus Stop, Prince and Showgirl and Misfits and the very raunchy set of posters for Some Like it Hot [ a “classic” film I personally have always detested]
Superb STILLS (1) The exceptionally juicy opening one (2) MM with Groucho [ a true collector’s item] (3) MM with Larry O (4) MM and horse (5) with my Richard (6) Let’s Make Love [my Greg walked out on that one as he felt they were building up MM’s part at his expense] (7) the gorgeous trio in How to marry millionaire (8) a very sexy one of MM on a bed (9) MM in the skirt scene that annoyed Niles Crane! and (10) was that a photo of MM clowning about with your fave speech therapist? They were apparently lovers for a while and socialised occasionally. There are photos on the internet of the pair in costume at a fancy dress ball.
You and Bruce agree on 5 of MM’s Top 6 best reviewed movies and you two disagree in only your including Bus Stop in your 6 whereas he goes for How to Marry Millionaire My scoring system give the video overall a 98% rating. Prime stuff!
Hi Bob, thanks for the review, rating, info, trivia and comparison, much appreciated.
Happy you liked the posters and stills.
I usually can’t stand seeing men wearing women’s clothing but I had to make an exception for Some Like it Hot, it’s been a favorite of mine for decades. That comedy classic never fails to make me smile and laugh, and I always seem to find some new hidden sexual innuendo each time I watch it. The film is packed to the ‘frills’ with naughtiness. And Monroe has never looked more gorgeous or more voluptuous IMO. Sadly she had 3 more years of life to live.
I saw those photos of Brando with MM and had to find a place somewhere in the video for them, they were advertising something I can’t remember. So, the two most iconic Hollywood stars of the 1950s were a couple for a while! I did not know this.
Three Monroe films scored 10 out of 10 from my sauces – All About Eve, The Asphalt Jungle and Some Like it Hot. And one scored 9 out of 10 – Bus Stop.
At IMDB the top rated MM films were All About Eve and Some Like it Hot. All About Eve topped Rotten Tomatoes chart.
ooh Bruce and I have the same top 3 which doesn’t always happen.
MM on Brando – “Personally, I react to Marlon Brando. He’s a favorite of mine.”
MM on Clift – “He’s the only person I know that is in worse shape than I am.”
MM on JFK – “It’s nice to have a president who looks so young and good-looking.”
MM on the skirt scene from The Seven Year Itch – “At first it was all innocent and fun, but when Billy Wilder kept shooting the scene over and over the crowd of men kept on applauding and shouting, ‘More, more Marilyn – let’s see more.’ What was supposed to be a fun scene turned into a sex scene.”
HI STEVE
Thanks for feedback additional information and quotes regarding MM.
As a star,associated primarily with movies she was the only actress to make that Time magazine 100 Greatest People list I mentioned. Lucille Ball was on it but for her contribution as a TV actress.
I’ll write to you tomorrow with another catch up post.
May I join in the Monroe Fun?
Miss Joan Crawford to then journalist and later biographer Bob Thomas on MM after she received Photoplay’s Rising Star Award in 1953:
“It was like a burlesque show. The audience yelled and shouted, and Jerry Lewis got up on the table and whistled. But those of us in the industry just shuddered. Sex plays a tremendously important part in every person’s life. People are interested in it, intrigued with it. But they don’t like to see it flaunted in their faces. . The publicity has gone too far. She is making the mistake of believing her publicity. Someone should make her see the light. She should be told that the public likes provocative feminine personalities; but it also likes to know that underneath it all, the actresses are ladies.”
To which MM, through Louella Parsons, replied:
“Although I don’t know Miss Crawford very well, she was a symbol to me of kindness and understanding to those who need help. At first, all I could think of was why should she select me to blast? She is a great star. I’m just starting. And then, when the first hurt began to die down, I told myself she must have spoken to Mr. Thomas impulsively, without thinking. . .”
The dress in question, reportedly so tight because MM had to be sown into it, is the famous gold lamé dress that can be spotted in Gentlemen prefer Blondes in the scene when Lorelei Lee dances with Charles Coburn aboard the ship that is taking them to Europe.
https://youtu.be/XA5RwH5Q2u4
HI LUPINO I enjoyed your quotation and video link and as often is he case when you comment your post about MM has given me much food for thought.
As I indicated in my recent post to Steve when Marilyn was on the screen it was hard for me to notice other stars even if they were my own idols. However I have to confess that I never liked her too much as an actress and was not over-interested in her films in themselves, especially the much-lauded Some Like It Hot which I regard as highly overrated.
However unlike professional critics such as for example Joel Hirschhorn I am not deluded into thinking that my opinions are the definitive ones and indeed if I were to be a serious critic I would prefer to model myself on our own Brucie who no matter what his own opinions are is sensitive to those of other people and tries to give all performers the degree of respect they have earned regardless of his personal likes and dislikes
Accordingly I must have regard to the fact that MM is regarded as the 6th greatest movie actress legend ever by the highly respected American Film Institute and that Time Magazine in its list of the perceived “100 Greatest People of the 20th Century” from all professions and walks of like selected MM as just one of 4 Hollywood screen legends to make that list and indeed among the 4 she was the only female.
Regardless of who was right in the Crawford/Monroe spat my own biggest gripe is with those performers who contribute little to movies either commercially or artistically but are simply as we have said before “famous for being famous” with the hype they enjoy normally owing much to their perceived sexual appeal, their sexual behaviour and/or controversial social conduct – “No not this man [Jesus] they shouted. Give us Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber and had taken part in an uprising” [John 18:40]
Frances McDormand is not big box office but is a terrific actress and Sly Stallone in my opinion is not among the greatest of actors but has contributed billions to the box office. The much-publicised Gabor sisters who appeared in films in their day have left no movies legacy of note in my view whereas Marilyn left a body of work much of which was highly successful at the box office. Today’s entertainment business seems to me to abound with the “famous for being famous” who could never string together a run of box office successes in the way that Monroe did.
Anyway thanks for your quotes and link and for sharing your opinions with us.
Bob Roy, finally we can disagree on something. I was getting concerned with my constantly agreeing with you. I thought it might be something about being a “Bob”. I love some like it hot. but to stay on track I perfectly agree with your assessment of miss Monroe. I never liked her too much as an actress. she is an icon, a true legend.
I fear some of her popularity was fuelled by her crossing the line with nude pictures and affairs possibly even presidential . just as miss Crawford expressed she may have been flaunting it. sadly that might have become just what the public wanted then and now even more so.
5 days earlier the crowd gave Jesus a rousing even kingly greeting . fickle and none too happy with teachings of holiness they shouted “crucify Him”.
Hello Bob,
glad you enjoyed the quotes and the video 🙂
I really can understand your reservations about Monroe as an actress, I am a huge fan and sometimes, while watching her, I catch myself thinking “ouch, this was really bad!” But in all fairness, there are also moments when I find her very touching and effective, something neither Jayne Mansfield (with the possible exception of The Wayward Bus) nor Mamie van Doren ever managed to. The Prince and the Showgirl, many scenes from Bus Stop, The Misfits and, to a minor degree, some scenes of Don’t bother to Knock come to mind. As a comedian, she was simply enchanting, and her best comedic performances seem so effortless that one might think she’s just playing herself. But knowing about her deep emotional troubles, we simply know this is not the case…don’t we?
I understand that she could be accused of using sex as a stepping stone to nurture her career, but in all fairness, the nude calender and the ensuing publicity came at a time when the american public has been through IT, SWEATER,OOMPH; PEEK-A-BOO, SARONG Girls and so much more that one can hardly accuse MM of establishing a new trend. And compared to what Mansfield or Diana Dors did for publicity, MM was still an amateur.
No matter what her thespian qualities were like, in the end Monroe had that rare quality that almost no other star had in her abundance- she could make love to the camera and come across even the cinemascope screen with all her beauty, glamour and, most importantly, vulnerabilty intact or more likely magnified. There was an incident while shooting Prince and Showgirl that I can’t find currently, but if you’ll excuse a quote from my memory rather than the pages of a book: On shooting The Prince and the Showgirl, director Larry Olivier, who must have had a hard time at home because Vivien Leigh, the star of the original stage production simply was too old for recreating “her” part on film, asked Monroe when she would finally “switch on” her famous sex appeal. Marilyn was very hurt by that “request”, but as Dame Sybil Thorndike revealed, when Monroes scenes were shown in the daily rushes, it was all there on the screen.
Bob, I agree with you about “actors” who are just famous for being famous, but while I always enjoyed the campy quality of the Gabor Sisters, I found Pia Zadora and Paris Hilton unbearable- and am really glad that the movies seem to be through with them.
This post has become way longer than intended, so forgive me for rambling on and on about lovely Marilyn 😉
Steve’s updated Marilyn Monroe You Tube Video Has Been Added To This Page….plus my stellar comments on that video.
The greatest screen beauty in the history of movies….still popular almost 60 years after her passing. I assume the Brando photo was for Bob?
Seen #19 We’re Not Married…..her first good role?
#18 Let’s Make It Legal…ok movie
#17 Prince and Showgirl…should have been better
#16 River of No Return…one of my favorite MM movies.
#15 Don’t Bother To Knock…a dark role for her
#14 Clash by Night…seen it…barely remember it
#12 Let’s Make Love….love the cameos
#10 Monkey Business….not one of my favorite Cary movies
#8 Niagara…..the only movie in which she does not make it out alive
#7 7 year itch….includes her most famous scene
#6 Bus Stop…I found Don Murray hard to watch in this one
#5 Misfits….really dislike this one…maybe I need to see it again
#4 Gentleman Prefer Blondes…cult classic
#3 Asphalt Jungle…great movie tiny role for her
#2 All About Eve….classic…another small part
#1 Some Like It Hot…considered to be the greatest comedy of all-time by many….but not me. That is 17 seen….almost with Flora….that is good company.
Voted up and shared.
Good stuff Bruce, you must be a bit of a fan. 17 out of 30 is good, I’ve seen 14 and Flora 19. I’m a big fan of Some Like it Hot, it’s one of my most watched comedies. Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, plus George Raft and Joe E. Brown, what’s not to like? I wrote about that film at Hubpages with plenty of photos and quotes too. Thanks for the comment, vote and share, much appreciated.
Hey Steve….watching her movies is not hard to do…..as for Some Like It Hot….I like the movie…..I just do not think the humor has aged well. Tony Curtis playing Cary Grant is a blast. Lemmon and Brown are fun together…..and Monroe gives her best performance…..truly a classic movie.
HI BRUCE
Typical of one brainwashed by Hirsch – you assume only I would be interested in Steve’s favourite speech therapist !!!
I agree with you that MM was the “greatest screen beauty” in terms of fame and Legend but whilst “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” for me in terms of sheer facial beauty at least the following were more beautiful than Marilyn, – my Deanna, Hedy, Gail Russell the young Liz Taylor, Shirley Temple when she grew into a young woman -and Tyrone Power, Stewart Granger, Tony Curtis and Hurd Hatfield! See also though my post today to Lupino.
Excellent synopses of MM’s key films in your post and your taste and mine coincide in relation to a number of the preferences you state.
HI BOB COX
It would not be unusual if we did disagree about something and indeed I think that once Bruce actually disagreed with Joel.However I am not sure that you and I do fundamentally disagree over Marilyn because whilst I am no prude I do not generally like overt sex related matters and materials gaining excessive publicity for stars and prefer to see a star’s acting ability doing the trick instead.
My main point was that even if one shares Crawford’s criticism at least Monroe’s movies pulled in the crowds at the box office whereas many of the “famous for being famous” gang who trade on sex might as I have suggested before be better at opening a tin of beans that they have proven to be in opening a film. My other point was that -sex considerations aside – I didn’t really like MM or most of her films but that I had to respect the opinions of those who did.
Bing Crosby before he died said that overt sex on the screen in the more modern films of his day disgusted him [and he was particularly critical of some of the on-screen antics of Warren Beatty] but what Bing was talking about in his final years and indeed the things Monroe got up to on scree and in her pin-ups pale to insignificance compared with some of the things we have been witnessing in movies in recent times, with for example Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street being so far out in my view that it seems to me that censorship of any kind is almost dead However modern audiences seem to welcome the kind of overt sexual scenes that are in that movie whereas some really artistic movies are deemed so dull that hardly anyone goes to watch them – hence my loose simile about the crowds preferring a robber to Jesus.
But you and I will not give up trying to find SOMETHING to disagree about as it does seem easy when you look at the way Bruce and Steve are constantly disagreeing with me! Anyway great chatting with you again Mr Cox.
HI LUPINO
I agree with most of what you say in your response to me and I thank you for taking the trouble to set out your opinions at length.
I have in fact in exchanges this evening with Bob Cox amplified my own comments which you might care to read. Best wishes
Can it be that I’ve never given a full comment on Marilyn’s page? Well, today is her birthday and what a way to post my 400th comment 😉
Tally count: Everything, even more than those movies mentioned on the list. Add Right Cross (no. 36 on June Allyson’s page), Ticket to Tomahawk (28 on Anne Baxter’s page), As Young as You Feel (25 on Thelma Ritter’s page), Dangerous Years and the scenes completed for Something’s Got To Give. Looks like I’m a fan 🙂
Of her pre-stardom movies I like Scudda Hoo, Scudda Hay and Ladies of the Chorus, her first full fledged movie role (no masterpieces, but pleasant time killers). During her “transition period” I love both her performances as Miss Caswell in Eve and her Angela Phinlay in Asphalt Jungle. Weaker movies, but still entertaining are As Young as You Feel, Love Nest, Let’s make it Legal and Clash by Night (said Barbara Stanwyck: In a few years we’ll be playing supporting parts in her movies!). A special mention to Don’t bother to Knock, her first real starring part. To me, her career as a “superstar” started with Niagara, and my fav Monroe films are hard to name…let’s just say that I love Gentlemen prefer Blondes, River of no Return (yes, another western), The Prince and the Showgirl, Some like it Hot and The Misfits (Bruce shaking his head in disbelief), just a little bit more than the others. Although I don’t feel that Bus Stop is a great movie, I treasure her perfomance in it as one of her alltime best.
Marilyn is one of the few stars from Hollywood’s golden age that really seems to be well enough known today to be called one of Hollywood’s “Immortals”- even more than those icons ranking higher on the AFI list. Ask a german18 year old who Katharine Hepburn was, and you’ll look into a blank face. Ask the same person who MM was, and he or she will at least have SOMETHING to offer 🙂
So, remembering Marilyn Monroe on her 92 birthday, I have a feeling that she is still missed by admirers around the world.
She was fantastic in “The Prince and the Show Girl” with Sir Laurence Oliver.
For ever Marilyn !!
Hey emilio…..I agree I just saw that a few months ago….her and Olivier made an interesting screen couple.
My favorite Monroe Performance! Although she was much better than she got credit for in most of her films. For this one she got an italian acting award, Americans just saw the scandalous, dumb Blonde in her…or so it seems. And my God, was she beautiful as Elsie Marina!
Hey Lupino….thanks for sharing your thoughts on The Prince and the Show Girl…I liked the movie….just not as much as you and emilio. Everytime I see that movie I keep thinking how this was one of her last performances…she only finished two more movies after this one. What a shame that she passed away so young. Good stuff.
The American Film Institute named “Some Like It Hot” and the Number One All Time Comedy movie.
That it did. Marilyn won a Golden Globe for her performance and should have gotten a Oscar nomination for the movie.
I always knew that Barbara Streisand was a great Brando admirer. However until I saw an old TV interview with her last week I was unaware that she had a close personal relationship and even went on road trips with him. She said in the interview though that he also tried to date
her romantically but she said no.
From what I have read he had more success with Marilyn.
Mmmmm. Interesting….Streisand and Brando on a road trip. Seems a Marlon/Babs movie in the mid 1970s would have been huge. Brando would have been good in her version of A Star Is Born.
“Believe only half of what you see and nothing of what you hear,” said Burt in The Crimson Pirate. I always bear that in mind when I read anything about Marlon [my 10th favourite movie star] because one film historian reckoned that more RUBBISH had been written about him than any other star with the possible exception of the Burtons.
However for what it’s worth I did read an article that suggested that Babs and MB did meet in the 70s to discuss a film project but it did not go anywhere. Perhaps the reason was that was that Babs was accompanied at the discussion by her then-husband or boyfriend; and apparently Marlon had a few drinks and made a pass at her.
There was a photo of the three of them with their arms round each other smiling. So at least we can believe half of what we see.
Regarding MM I’v seen photos of her and Bud (as MB was nicknamed) dressed in outrageous costume at a fancy-dress ball.
Hey Robert Roy. I can believe that pretty easily. I imagine the Burtons and Brando would often shake in their heads in disbelief about the stuff they were reading about themselves. I think Brando had lots of meetings that ended up going nowhere…lol. That would have been an interesting place to be at….a fancy ball in the 1950s with Brando & Monroe and probably lots of other celebrities.